One Year Love
by ewartFaron
Summary: Modern AU, but Luffy has a curse in which his memories of the person he likes will reset every year.
1. Chapter 1

If there was one thing Ace hated about the winter, it was the cold. Sometimes, the weather gets so cold on the Grandline that he could feel it right to his bones. He'd very much rather have summer, where layers and layers of clothing weren't a necessity.

Right, and then there's that. Winter meant that his birthday was coming up.

Ace's apartment was always empty and somehow whenever it was his birthday, it made him feel even lonelier. His parents were gone and he couldn't blame his friends for leaving him alone either; it was New Year's after all.

Ace brushed off the thought. There were still a couple of days until the year ended anyway. All the Christmas parties had just ended and all of his friends began to prepare their own New Year's parties with their families. In other words, Ace didn't have anyone to hang out with. Every year he faced the same situation of boredom, which usually ended up with him having hangovers from a whole night of beer and television.

 _Good thing I signed up for that volunteer work_ , Ace thought as he put on his coat before leaving for the fire station.

That's right. To prevent major regrets, this year he volunteered to help out the local fire brigade. Keep his hands full. Plus, this would also be beneficial to him, since he had always dreamt of becoming a fire fighter.

When he reached the place, he was surprised that another person had actually volunteered as well. Ace eyed the other boy curiously. Did he not have a family to celebrate New Year's with as well?

The other boy seemed to have noticed Ace gawking at him. He blinked at Ace, then flashed the brightest smile Ace had ever seen.

 _Oh, oh no. He's cute!_

Ace's thoughts were interrupted by the fire chief clearing his throat.

"So, you two have volunteered to help the fire brigade out," the fire chief coughed. "As you know, New Year's is around the corner, which means that the town is especially susceptible to accidents right now. People starts getting drunk and sets fire to everything…well, you get the gist. We're a little short on hands right now, so I'll have you two patrol around town and prevent troubles."

 _What, do we not get to fight fires?_

"Whaaaaat, do we not get to fight fires?" The other boy took Ace's words right out of his mouth.

"No, you two are inexperienced and unqualified. The only problems you'll be fighting today are the petty fights between drunkards, or saving cats from trees! If you do come across a fire, you must contact the station immediately!"

 _Hmph. Boring._

"But that's so boring!" The other boy whined. Ace looked over at him amusedly.

"Now run along, you two!" The fire chief shooed the volunteers out of the station.

Well, there goes his plan of spending his time wisely. Now he's just spending his time walking around town looking at everyone else being happy with their families and being reminded of how bitter he was. Just great.

Ace scratched the back of his head as he turned to take his leave.

But then he felt a tug on his coat.

He peered over his shoulder, his eyes laying on the other younger boy.

"Hey," the other boy said. "Do you want to patrol together?"

Ace stood there in silence for a second.

"I-I mean! If we're gonna do something boring, we might as well do it together!" The other boy stuttered.

Ace smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be so boring after all.

"Sure. My name is Ace. And yours…?"

The other boy's eyes sparkled, it was almost magical.

"I'm Luffy!"


	2. Chapter 2

The two left to walk around town. The streets were livelier than usual, with Christmas decorations still untouched. There were sounds of chattering and laughter, clinking of glass bottles, children screaming and running down the pavements. One kid even bumped into Ace and didn't apologise before scurrying off. Rude.

"Ooooh! Ace! That's the restaurant I was talking about!" Luffy pulled Ace's arm and pointed at a building. "It has the best steaks ever!"

Luffy was talking so excitedly Ace couldn't help but feel interested in it as well. He made a mental note to visit there some time.

Luffy continued to babble about various things in a speed that Ace could hardly keep up with. Despite that, he did pick up certain things. Ace learnt that Luffy was three years younger than him and went to the same school as him. Well, he wasn't surprised. There were only so few schools around here.

"There's something that had been bothering me," Ace brought up. "Why did you volunteer to help out the fire brigade?"

"Hm?" Luffy blinked. "Ah. Well, being a fire fighter has always been my dream."

Ace grinned. So Luffy was the same as him.

"What about New Year's? Don't you have to prepare for it?"

"Mm," Luffy shrugged. "It's not like I've got anyone to spend it with. Gramps is never home."

Ace kind of felt bad that he was happy about Luffy being in the same situation as him. It wasn't exactly the best situation to be in. But…knowing that he wasn't alone in this made him feel slightly less bitter.

"What about you? Why did you volunteer?"

"Me? I'm the same as you," Ace laughed.

"Really? What a coincidence!" Luffy exclaimed. "Quick! What's your favourite colour!"

Ace was taken aback by Luffy's quick question. "Red, I guess?"

"Wow! Me too! What's your favourite food!" The questions keep coming.

"Meat."

"WOW! Me too!" Luffy was flabbergasted. Ace wanted to chuckle at how cute this boy is.

"We must be fated," Ace joked.

"You think?" Luffy smiled a smile so pure that Ace, for a split second, actually believed his own words.

"W-well," Ace tripped over his words, flustered. Utterly embarrassing.

The voice of a six year old girl interrupted them. "Mommy! Are those two men going to kiss?"

Ace's face flushed bright red as the little girl obliviously pointed at them.

"Let's leave this place…" Ace groaned, grabbing Luffy's hand and storming off to somewhere quiet.

When they reached a lakeside with barely any people, Ace realised he was holding onto Luffy's hand really tightly. He immediately let go and apologised to the younger boy.

"Shishishi, what was that about?" Luffy giggled.

"A-ah, well…I thought we could use a change of pace."

"But we're supposed to be patrolling the town?"

 _Why don't you just let me have this one!_

"Y'know…uhm…" Ace glanced around the vicinity. "There might be a cat stuck in a tree around here that needs our help!"

"Oh."

 _Thank god he bought it._

"Look, Ace!" Luffy seemed to have jumped to another topic. "The lake is frozen!"

Ace hummed in agreement. It was so cold the lake was literally just ice. It was quite an amazing view, he had to admit.

"I wonder if I can walk on it…" Luffy thought aloud.

"Hey, just a warning, I can't swim to save your butt if you fall in," Ace teased.

"I can't swim either," Luffy whined, staring at the icy surface of the lake.

"Ah! Over there!" Luffy suddenly shouted, pointing at a tree far away. So Luffy's the type to get distracted easily.

Ace followed Luffy, who ran towards the tree. The tree had lost all of its leaves, but on one of its branches…

"Wow, Ace! You're so amazing! There's actually a cat stuck up there!"

"Haha…what can I say?" _Sorry I jinxed you, cat._

The cat was meowing, as though pleading to be let down.

"Don't worry! I'll save you right away!" Luffy chirped as he began to climb the tree.

"Hey, be careful, alright?" Ace cautioned.

"I know, I know! I'm good at climbing trees!"

Luffy actually climbed his way up to the branch with the cat. Ace was impressed.

"Come here!" Luffy tried to reach out to the cat, which backed away looking terrified. "Damn it, if only my arms could extend!"

In his final attempt in getting the cat, Luffy managed to scoop it up into his arms.

"Got you!"

As soon as he said that, he looked down and he realised something.

"Ace…?" Luffy sounded like he was going to cry. "How do I get down when I'm carrying the cat with both of my hands…?"

Ace sighed. So much for being a tree climbing expert.

Ace opened up his arms wide. "Don't worry, I'll catch."

Luffy blinked and thought for a while. Then he nodded.

"I'll trust you!"

With that, Luffy did a leap of faith into Ace's arms.

Ace did catch him, but they both crashed into the ground. The cat was quick to escape when Luffy's grip loosened.

"Shishishi! You caught me!" Luffy laughed.

Ace couldn't help but laugh as well.

"You idiot…I meant the cat!"


	3. Chapter 3

Ace was really glad that he had signed up for the volunteer work. He met Luffy, who was somehow able to make Ace look forward to the New Year. The boy was unbelievably cheerful and maybe even over-friendly. But Ace didn't dislike that.

The two spent the rest of the day patrolling random parts of the city, and even though they were supposed to be focusing on preventing trouble from breaking out in town, all they thought was having fun together. They talked about anything under the sun, showing each other the cool tricks they could do, competing with each other over who can do what better…

Before they knew it, the sun had set and evening arrived. Honestly, Ace was starting to feel exhausted, keeping up with Luffy's antics. Luffy, on the other hand, was still as energetic as ever. When Ace suggested they return to the fire station to report to the chief about their day, Luffy whined in protest. Ace couldn't help but picture a whining puppy whose owner just told him it was time to go home after a walk in the park. How cute.

In the end, Luffy yielded and they went back to the fire station to give their report. The fire chief was sceptical about having no fights reported, but shrugged it off and dismissed them before returning to his quarters.

"So…you're going back home now?" Luffy asked as Ace stretched and yawned.

"Mm…guess so."

"…"

An awkward silence.

"It was nice meeting you," Ace said, cheeks slightly heating up. Damn it, was it always this awkward? "See you around, yea?"

Ace felt Luffy tugging his coat.

"Ah! Uhm," Luffy spoke while fidgeting. Ace must have been crazy to see blush on Luffy's face.

"Mm…nevermind," Luffy said, shaking his head as he let go of Ace's coat. "I had fun today. I'd love to see you again."

With that, Luffy dashed off, leaving Ace with a bright red face behind.

Ace's heart was thumping so loudly and his head was swirling and he just can't see straight anymore…

 _What is this…?_

After a couple minutes of cooling himself down, Ace dragged his feet back to his apartment and flopped face-first onto the couch.

 _Just now…why was it so hot when it's still winter…?_

Luffy…Luffy was such a mysterious boy. He was so pure, so warm, that even winter didn't seem that cold after all.

Ace glanced over at the dining table. A single cup of instant noodles, placed there by him that morning. Ace heaved a sigh.

 _Should've invited him for dinner…_

 _Fuck._ Realisation hit Ace like a pile of bricks. _I didn't even get his number!_

 _Luffy's an idiot, but you're the biggest idiot here, Ace! You big dummy! Fuck!_

Ace gnawed himself out, wanting to repeatedly bang his head against the wall.

 _Wait a minute._

 _Why am I so beat up over not getting his number!? What am I, a sixteen year old girl having her first crush?!_

Ace banged his head against the floor again and again, berating himself for being so cringey.

 _Well…_

Ace rolled over and lay on his back. The ceiling seemed so much further away than he remembered.

 _…I'll see him again, right?_


	4. Chapter 4

The year went by and Ace found himself spacing out more than usual. Luffy always appeared in his thoughts it was almost annoying. It's embarrassing, but Ace actually strolled around the town several times just because he hoped to meet the younger boy again.

Alas, it had been about a month since their last encounter. School was starting and Ace was getting hopeful about bumping into Luffy on the campus.

The school they attended was one of the four schools built on the Grandline. Each of these schools is divided into sections: Elementary, Secondary and Tertiary. In the Elementary section, students are enrolled at a young age of seven and are taught basic subjects. In the Secondary section, students are further grouped into the general track or specialised tracks. Ace was part of the general track, since there was no specialised track at the Secondary stage to become a fire fighter. He figured that Luffy would be part of the general track as well, but since they were of different ages, they wouldn't have the same classes. On the other hand, the Tertiary section has many more specialised tracks, one for every existing job on the Grandline, including fire fighters.

Basically, everyone on the Grandline would enrol into one of the four schools and learn everything they need to know, starting from the Elementary stage and graduating all the way to Tertiary.

There's still one more year until Ace graduates from the Secondary section to the Tertiary section. He was really looking forward to joining the specialised track, since the general track was extremely boring. He had heard from one of his best friends, Sabo, who was in the specialised track to becoming a writer that his lessons were fun and enjoyable. Sabo even had the chance to go out to gather materials while Ace was stuck in school listening to repetitive lectures!

That aside, there was now another reason Ace was looking forward to the specialised track. Luffy said that he wanted to become a fire fighter, which means that he would be going into the same track as Ace. They might even have the chance to attend classes together, since not many people join the track.

They could even sit together, or eat lunch together, or do projects together-

 _Gah! Why am I thinking about these!_ Ace wanted to hit himself. Did he have a crush on Luffy or something?! Well sure, Luffy was super cute, and they had common interests, and they hit off pretty well, and Ace had been thinking about him continuously for a month-

 _No!_ Ace wanted to bury himself in a hole. How could he, out of all people, fall in love after meeting a person only once?

 _It's been so long, he probably already forgot about me anyway…_

Ace's heart sank at the thought.

 _But we had a bonding moment, so he might remember, right?_

What a fool.

A week after school reopened, Ace was casually walking in the cafeteria while sipping on a packet of milk when in the corner of his eye, he spotted the person he had been longing to see, almost blending in with the crowd of students and walking away in the opposite direction.

Ace's body moved on its own. He immediately spun around and squeezed through the crowd hurriedly, eyes never leaving the boy he had been looking for.

Finally, _finally…!_

Ace must've shoved aside many people, who seemed displeased, but he didn't care.

He reached his hand out, finally catching _that person_ by the shoulder, turning him around so that Ace could take a better look at his face.

His face was just as Ace had remembered, big round eyes with a notable scar on his left cheek, Ace wouldn't mistake this face for anyone else's.

"Luffy…" It was strange; he couldn't find the right words to say despite always dreaming of this exact moment. His heart was racing so fast and his thoughts even faster. There was so much Ace wanted to tell this boy-

"Who are you?"


End file.
